Ashoka Changemakers and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Pioneer Portfolio invite Entries for Innovations for Health Competition

Ashoka Changemakers, in association with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Pioneer Portfolio, invites entries around the world in the form of innovative health care solutions having potential to improve health care situation in other countries and regions. The contest is entitled as Innovations for Health: Solutions that Cross Borders. You can either submit the solution or nominate a project. The organizers are especially looking for the entries that have displayed positive impact in helping populations at risk.

Eligibility Criteria

• Innovations for Health: Solutions that Cross Borders is open to all individuals, teams, and organizations (public or private entities). This global competition welcomes entries that:
• Reflect the theme of the challenge: Innovations for Health: Solutions that Cross Borders. The aim of the competition is to identify health care innovations that have the potential to be adapted and applied in different countries experiencing similar barriers to health.
• Have a proven success on some level, with the potential to scale; or indicate a path for growth beyond the conceptual stage and have already demonstrated impact and sustainability.
• Are submitted in English, French, Spanish, or Portuguese.

Assessment Criteria

• Changemakers and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Pioneer Portfolio are interested in a variety of approaches that address the challenge of Innovations for Health. The winning entries will best meet the following criteria:
• Innovation: This is the knock-out test. Does the innovation clearly reflect the ability to systemically transform health and health care by focusing on greater simplicity, lower cost, easier access, higher quality, efficiency, or enhanced convenience of services to more empowered and informed consumers? Your entry should describe a new approach to solving a particular problem.
• Innovations for Health especially seeks solutions that can be applied in other countries to improve health and health care. The organizers seek innovative answers to global challenges.
• Social Impact: The competition is looking for breakthrough innovations that have the potential to catalyse exponential change in health and health care.
• Sustainability: For an innovation to be truly effective, it must have both a model of sustainable impact and a viable organization. Innovations will be judged on their long-term vision for increasing impact and creating lasting change. Entrants should describe the current environment in which they are operating and the challenges and opportunities present within it.

Prize

• One of three US $10,000 cash prizes in unrestricted funding to boost your project.
• One of two US $500 cash prizes in addition to a private consulting session with industry experts (if you enter before December 12, 2011 and are chosen as one of the two early entry prize winners).

Last date for submitting the entries is February 13, 2012.
For more information, visit this link.